!DISCONTINUED! |Protection Detail| OHSHC

3

As Kei woke up the next morning, normal as usual, it was the weekend, meaning he didn't have protection duty today; a Private would be taking over for him so he could catch up on meetings. As Kei got into his sweats, like every other morning, he heard yelling from outside the barracks; sighing, he went to investigate with his shirt in his hand, easily pulling it over his head as he opened the door, voice stern and rough with lingering sleep and lack of caffeine.

"What the hell is going on out here?" His voice was slightly strained from just waking up and not having coffee, and the three private second classes looked over with a slightly scared look. His morning voice usually always kept the lower ranks in place, which, mixed with a hard look, had them talking. He swallowed slowly, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his broad shoulders.

"S-Sir, good morning... We were just... Nothing, sir!!" When the private tried explaining what happened, Kei glared slightly and pointed behind him. His voice was slow, and even as he spoke, a stern tinge in his vocals had the three quickly saluting.

"Sweats, now." The three saluted and nodded, jogging into the barracks with a sigh of relief. With that, Kei looked at the group standing before him and sighed softly. He adjusted his posture, softening his tone and expression before his lips twitched at the corners. 

"You do know today I'm not on duty... Right..?" Kyouya raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Kei exhaled and shook his head. "That's why a private first class was keeping tabs on you all, why he invited you on base in the first place is beyond me..." Kyouya spoke evenly once Kei was done speaking. 

"No, we didn't..." Kei ran a hand through his hair and rolled his head, cracking his neck. He ran through his mental list of the day, walking back to his bunk and gathering a few things for later, making sure his dress uniform was laid out on his bed before scratching the small bit of stubble on his chin and jaw. 

"I have meetings soon that can't be canceled..." With a sigh, he scanned the surrounding area and smiled when he saw a Private first class. His mind filtered through names before stopping on one he could place to the face.

"Private first class Sakura!" He called out, the woman looked over and smiled, jogging over and saluting. Her posture was straight, she was older than Kei but didn't seem to have a problem with his as her higher-up. Her lips curled into a smile, looking at Kei with respect.

"Yes, sir?"

"While I'm doing my jog and in meetings, this morning, could you watch these guys? I have a busy schedule..." She nodded in understanding; even though she was older than him, she respected him highly. She went through her mental agenda for the day quickly before nodding once and dropping the salute.

"Of course, Sir, anything sir!" He nodded and exhaled softly as he looked at the group, giving this a stern look easily. "Behave while I'm gone and treat Private First Class Sakura with respect. I will try to keep my meetings short but I hold no promises. I'm due to meet up with one stubborn General who never shuts up, so I'll likely be busy and occupied till late morning into the early afternoon." Tamaki and the twins stifled their laughs at his comment, though he threw a wink to the group before clearing his throat and inhaling before turning to the barracks as a whole, speaking loudly and with command in his tone.

"Jogging time men! Gear up!" When he finished, he walked over to his bunk and grabbed his military backpack, slinging it over his shoulders and buckling it in place.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The men yelled out as they ran outside, already starting their five-mile jog.

"Alright, I'll be back in roughly eighty minutes, then I'll shower and head out to the meeting. It should be breakfast soon after, if you guys haven't eaten I'll show you to the mess hall. Sound good?" They nodded while looking around the room in slight awe, Kei nodded and bid the group a short 'goodbye' before quickly catching up with the men that ran off before.

---

As the ten miles ended, Kei waved to the men and slung his bag off, carrying it in his hand while he entered the barracks, when he got there Sakura was talking to the boys who sat around her on the floor. He shook his head and dropped his bag into his locker before grabbing a towel and heading for the showers, he quickly showered and got dressed, drying his hair lightly as he walked out of the shower room.

"Each badge means something different, Corporal Ninato has one pin on his collar, showing he's a Corporal, while I just have strips because I'm a private. The specialist has nothing on them because they usually do special Op's." Kei nodded slightly and tapped his hand onto her head softly while fixing his tie with the other hand.

"Good job, you remembered Private Sakura," She smiled and nodded.

"Yes sir, I did Sir." He nodded and tipped his hat to the group.

"Be back in a bit to get you guys for breakfast, or Sakura could bring you now and I'll meet you there?" Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, that would work, I think we're all hungry, sir." He nodded and told them to go ahead. Another Private first class ran in, out of breath and panting. He clutched the doorframe in his hand tightly, looking at Kei frantically as he finally gasped a few words out to the man.

"S-sir!! I can't fin-" He looked up and saw the group he was supposed to be guarding. His face paled comically, Kei took his expression in before inhaling slowly to keep his composure, walking slowly toward the Private. 

"I would reprimand you for losing the people you're supposed to guard, considering they are a high-risk protection detail. But I won't because you're doing laps~ A lot of laps ~ And extra laps during PT, understood?" He nodded and flinched before grabbing his sweats and changing in the bathroom. His head hung as his face was still flushed from the physical exertion he had gone through to try and find the group of boys.

"How many laps, sir?"

"Twenty-five. And you'll be telling the higher-up exactly what happened and how you fucked this up so quickly. Am I understood?" The man nodded once, saluting stiffly before he jogged off, starting his laps, shame becoming clear in his expression as he ran off with a theoretical tail between his legs.

"Alright, Sir..." Kei smiled slightly and walked off with his hat in hand; he plopped it back onto his head before catching one of the trucks; everyone piled in and sat quietly while the truck moved around the grounds quickly. Takashi and Mitsukuni looked pretty comfortable in this environment, though knowing both their families had ties to the military was an easy indicator of why. Tamaki, the twins, and Haruhi all looked around in awe as they passed building. And people. And groups of people- and whole platoons running drills, cadences being loudly shouted out in a nearby field. Kyouya looked around, his hand flying across a note page as he took note of several things, Kei's head never quite stopped his cautious swivel as he looked around.

"Alright, here's your stop kid, hop off and tell me how it goes, alright?" His commanding officer said evenly, giving his shoulder a light pat before Kei got out, saluting to the man in the driver's seat before nodding.

"Not joining today, sir?" The man who drove him shook his head. A slight smile tugged the older man's lips. "No. You know I don't like that Sargeant Carleson. He yabbers too much..." Kei let a silent breath of a laugh out, looking off to the side before he turned on his heels in an about-face. His back straightened before he started walking toward the building, waving over his shoulder to the group still in the truck.

"Another damn meeting..." He mumbled under his breath as he entered the facility, inside was busy, bustling with life and chatter of higher-ranking officers and lower-ranking officers moving about their business. Everyone was co-existing in the space nicely though. Kei moved efficiently, making his way to the meeting rooms quickly, so he wouldn't keep the several people he was having a meeting with waiting too long. His strides were long, head held high as he entered the meeting room, saluting immediately upon a glance around the room. 

"Sargeant Smith is unable to join us today due to other urgent matters, I will be leading this meeting to the best of my abilities, it's a pleasure to see you all. For those who don't know I'm Corporal Ninato Kei." He spoke evenly, his voice neutral as the men, and a few women, around the table stood and saluted to him, once pleasantries were exchanged around the table, everyone took their seats, Kei sitting at the head of the table, leading the meeting along fairly well.